Homily - World Day of Peace 2025 - Bishop McKeown

World Day of Peace - 1st January, 2025

Forgive us our trespasses: grant us your peace

Since 1968, on the initiative of Pope Paul VI, each year on January 1^st, the Pope sends out a message for the World Day of Peace. In the optimistic 60s, there was a dream of peace and for an end to the waste of vast sums of money on armaments. Many of that generation had known the result of the Second World War. When we look at the state of the world 57 years on, we might ask whether it is a waste of time to pray for peace. Why should we - on the cusp of a Jubilee Year dedicated to being pilgrims of hope - renew our commitment to being peacemakers? The obscene slaughters in Gaza, Ukraine, Sudan and many other places seem so far beyond our reach or influence. They mock those who would dare to dream.

Pope Francis begins by naming the threats to the future of humanity as a whole –

all manner of disparities, the inhuman treatment meted out to migrants, environmental decay, the confusion wilfully created by disinformation, the refusal to engage in any form of dialogue and the immense resources spent on the industry of war.

Politicians can promise great philosophies. But systems can be exploited by the strong. We see from history and from the church that sin can undermine any political ideology. The hunger for power and the fear of not being in control can be cloaked in all sorts of excuses. But in every system, the strong so often ensure that they benefit whatever the cost to the less influential.

Pope Francis proposes that our starting point for renewal is an attitude of gratitude for all the blessings of the earth. Faith in God nourishes a grateful heart. If we can find joy in accepting everything as gift, that can be a basis for peace.

Once we lose sight of our relationship to the Father, we begin to cherish the illusion that our relationships with others can be governed by a logic of exploitation and oppression, where might makes right.

He then goes on to speak about the temptation to see the faults of others and to be blind to our own contribution to division. It is easy but destructive to have an angry heart. We have lots of world figures who seem proud of a language of confrontation. The portrayal of fighting heroes means that violence seems increasingly acceptable on our streets and even in our homes. But anger is unhealthy – physically, mentally and spiritually. The Pope calls for all of us 'to disarm our hearts'. We know from our local history the damage that can be done by heavily armed hearts. Those who feed a spirit of angry confrontation are incapable of building peace. They can destroy but cannot build up. Peace comes from the healing grace of being forgiven and accepting that we all need to be forgiven. Peace in Gaza and Ukraine will never come merely from smashing the enemy but from recognising the rights of the other and not just their alleged wrongs against us. Disarming hearts involves forgiveness and not just negotiations. Jesus, the Prince of Peace, took all our sin and faults upon himself so that we might know forgiveness and not be scarred by a comforting conviction of victimhood that is emotional and spiritual junk food. Peace comes from allowing ourselves to be forgiven and not merely from condemning the faults of others.

And in the church, we have to be the first to take his message of peace on board. We have our own internal wars that need to be dealt with through grace. We argue over who is responsible for the mistakes of the past and the shape of the future. So often, these discussions are tinged with the desire for certainty and control. But the bible and church history show us that gracious growth comes when we allow God to be in charge, when we seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit and are not led by bad spirits. The church belongs to Christ, not to us. And healing is not just a task for leaders. Pope Francis wites

Disarming hearts is a job for everyone, great and small, rich and poor alike. At times, something quite simple will do, such as "a smile, a small gesture of friendship, a kind look, a ready ear, a good deed.

The theme for this Jubilee Year has been translated as 'pilgrims of hope', But a more literal translation of the theme would be 'pilgrims into hope'. This message for World Day of Peace is an invitation to begin a journey into hope with a spirit of gratitude for all that we have rather than a spirit of fear for what we might lose.And it emphasises how all renewal needs conversion. Divine forgiveness and peace are free gifts, not the result of our victory. Only God's grace in Jesus can defeat evil.

Pope Francis finishes his message with a prayer:

Forgive us our trespasses, Lord,

as we forgive those who trespass against us.

In this cycle of forgiveness, grant us your peace,

the peace that you alone can give

to those who let themselves be disarmed in heart,

to those who choose in hope to forgive the debts of their brothers and sisters,

to those who are unafraid to confess their debt to you,

and to those who do not close their ears to the cry of the poor.

Despite all the gloomy realities around us, we are invited to pray for peace on earth – but to let it begin with me.

+ Donal